A driver was killed in 3am road smash by Manchester United’s Old Trafford stadium as he was chased by police at up to 105mph.

Father-of-one Luke Campbell, 24, had gone out to mark the first anniversary of his father’s death in the hours before the fatal accident.

He was carrying two women passengers and trying to shake off a marked patrol car when he lost control of his high performance Mercedes and ploughed into a CCTV camera pole and a Mini waiting at traffic lights.

The skip delivery driver, who is thought not to have not been wearing a seatbelt, suffered multiple injuries in the impact, at the junction of Chester Road and Warwick Road South, yards from the stadium.

Tests showed Luke Campbell was almost twice the drink-drive limit and had ‘recreational’ traces of cocaine in his system, a coroner’s inquest heard. He had jumped several red lights in the moments before the impact.

Luke Campbell

Two young women in the Mini - aged 19 and 22 - suffered serious injuries, including fractured ribs and other broken bones, and spent several weeks in hospital.

The tragedy occurred on February 21 2016 after Campbell, from Sholver , Oldham , had been out at Deansgate Locks to commemorate the first anniversary of his father’s death.

Police became suspicious when they saw his Mercedes S320 company vehicle, looking like it had been abandoned in the middle of the road.

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PC Simon Folwell told the Stockport hearing: “We stayed a few minutes and a light on the Mercedes came on. At that point I knew I wanted to talk to the driver. I followed the tail lights and it was my intention to catch the vehicle up. I didn’t see the vehicle again until I got to the bottom of Chester Road and the male was driving at full speed.

“It is usually the radio operator who authorises the pursuit and this is what happened. I described the road conditions, the speed and the vehicle before being authorised. We tried to get a tactical advisor involved and continued our journey.

(Image: Cavendish Press)

“At that point the car was quite a distance away from me and I didn’t realise he was on the other side of the carriageway until I saw the crash. Once he had passed the central reservation there was nothing I could have done.

“The first thing I did was to check the people in the Mini as they were closest. They were both conscious, breathing and talking to me. I ran across to the Mercedes but it was impossible to get into the car and I waited for the emergency services.

“I have never been involved in a collision which has ended in a fatality. If I had known who the driver was I would not have commenced a pursuit as there would have been other alternatives. If he had driven back into the city centre it would have increased the risks and I probably wouldn’t have carried out the pursuit.”

Special Constable Rebecca Houghton who was with PC Folwell said: “I saw a Mercedes that appeared to be unattended in the middle of the road.

“I thought we would try and speak to the driver and a taxi turned into the road and began flashing its lights at the Mercedes. PC Folwell said the lights on the Mercedes had come on and it began to make off at speed. A male stepped in front of our car and obstructed it for about 30 seconds. By this point the Mercedes was out of view.

“PC Folwell turned the blue lights and sirens on and radioed through for advice for the pursuit. He said he thought it was a triple X which means a drunk driver. The Mercedes went through a number of red lights and at one point it slowed down and I thought it was going to pull over but it just kept going and I heard a loud bang and saw the smoke.

“We were quite a way back at this point and PC Folwell radioed for assistance. The weather had been wet and damp and the lighting was fairly consistent. PC Folwell stated that at one point the speed was over 100mph.”

Control room officer Martin Brennan said: “PC Folwell needed me to confirm that I was content for this pursuit to continue. It is a very important decision to make as lives are at stake. There were four experienced officers involved in this who could have chosen to stop the pursuit. I have been in many occasions where someone in that four has demanded to stop the pursuit.

“PC Folwell is qualified to a level that he does not need authorisation to carry out a pursuit.”

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Earlier, Luke Campbell’s sister, Amy Rogerson, said her brother had been significantly affected by the death of their parents and had seemed a ‘little bit lost.’

She added: “When Luke had been drinking he would get into trouble. I spoke to him the night he died. He was going out to have a drink with friends as it had been a year since our father’s death.

Luke Campbell (Image: Cavendish Press (Manchester) Ltd)

“He had brought a birthday present and a card for his son’s birthday. He seemed in really good spirits.”

Pathologist Dr Gavin Udall said Luke had suffered traumatic head, chest and neck injuries and added: “Injuries suggest he may not have been wearing a seatbelt but that could be due to the fact this was a high speed collision. His spine was fractured and he had multiple fractures to the skull, it would have been impossible to survive.

Tests showed Campbell had 141 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood. The legal alcohol limit for driving is 80mg.

PC Folwell, a traffic officer for ten years, was later subjected to an 18-month disciplinary investigation at the request of the Independent Police Complaints Commission, but in October last year he was cleared of any wrongdoing after experts said his driving during the 90-second pursuit was ‘text book and appropriate’ for the conditions.